Location

Małgorzata Grzenda

Golczewo is located in Zachodniopomorskie Province, 23 kilometres south-east
of Kamień Pomorski.
The town is situated between two lakes: Szczucze (Lower) and Okonie (Upper).
These are first-class purity lakes and due to their natural values, protected nature
and landscape areas were formed in this municipality.

History

Małgorzata Grzenda

The history of the Jewish
settlement in Golczewo began in 1705 since the mention of a Jew called Marcus
Joseph, who previously lived in Dobra, dates back to this very year. One year
later, he participated in the elections of the Jewish elders of Pomerania that
took place in Stargard Szczeciński (Stargard). The fee that he paid for the
protection of the state in 1712 amounted to 4 thalers. According to the 1722 report of the Pomerania
Government (German: Pommersche Regierung), there were two Jews living in
Golczewo, Hieronymus Moses and Alexander
Joseph. What is known about the first
one is that he was wealthy and he could afford to pay for the privilege. The
second Jew was the son-in-law of Marcus Joseph and in 1728 he paid 20 thalers and 16 groszys for the privileges.
According to the data from 1749, there were three Jews living in the town: Aronius
Moses, Lewin Salomon and Alexander
Joseph’s widow. Three years later, there
were four Jewish families living in Golczewo; 16 people in total. These people
were listed in the reference book. However, a year later, on
September 15, a clerk called Bühring presented a project aiming to
decrease the permissible number of Jewish families allowed to live in the
smaller towns of the district, such as Golczewo. The proposal was accepted by
the Prussian king and, as a result, in 1764, only Lewin Salomon, a Jew who paid for the privileges 20
thalers, and Leyser’s widow,
who, due to the lack of resources, was exempted from the fees, lived in
Golczewo. The data concerning the Jews living in Golczewo in the 19th
century is scarce. However, without a doubt, they moved back to the town. The
names of the Jewish inhabitants who are presumed to have lived in the town at
that time are listed in the reference book. These were almost solely
merchants; however, there was also one shochet. The names of the members of the community who
died between 1850 and 1873, along with some more detailed information about
them, are presented in the table. Towards the end of the
century, the number of inhabitants amounted from 1,200 to 1,300, out of which
only 50-60 people were of Jewish descent; whereas in 1905 – only 48. The
official kehilla was established in Golczewo comparatively late, and its
chairman was Paul Croner. In
1889, the position of a teacher in the community was held by H. Klang, and lat

Local history

Małgorzata Grzenda

Before it took the current
form, the name of the locality changed frequently. In 1304, it was Gulzov, and
in 1315, Gulsow or Gulsowe. It originated from an Old Polish personal name
authenticated in the 12th century – Golesz or Giolisz, which means
“naked” or “a naked man”. The correct original meaning of the name reads as
follows: Goleszewo or Goliszewo, which means the property of Golisz or Golesz. In
the initial period of the settlement, the town of Golczewo was situated on the
other, south defensive line of Kamień Pomorski, which runs from the Island of
Wolin to the River Rega. In the 12th century, after Wolin had
collapsed and after Duke Warcisław I had established the duke’s residence in
Kamień Pomorski, the Wolińsk-Kamień cultural group began to develop in this
area. In the 12th and 13th century, thanks to the Bishop
of Kamień, Hermann von Gleichen
from Thuringia, newcomers from Brandenburg settled in the area where nowadays
Golczewo is situated. Near the town, a trading settlement, castrum et villa
Gulzow, was set up. At that time, the settlement was in the ownership of
the vassals of Duke Bogislaw IV and Ot­to
I: Wulvekin Smeling (Schme­ling)
and Echard Wedelstedt (Wedelstädt).
Presumably, around 1284, they built a castle with a tower situated halfway
between Nowograd and Kamień. This location was in accordance with the town and
castle planning rules of the time; the distance between them was not supposed
to exceed 30 kilometers.

The castle was located in the
narrowing between the local lakes, on a small elevation. It was one of the
biggest and best-built castles in Pomerania.
There was even a legend saying that it was connected to the Kamień
Cathedral through an underground tunnel. The first records mentioning castrum
Gülzow date back to 1304. At that
time, Bishop of Kamień Pomorski, Heinrich
Wacholz, bought from Wulvekin
Smeling and Echard Wedel­stedt the
castle in Golczewo for 1200 marks, paying them 500 marks of advance
payment. This entitled the former owners to continue to live there. Four years
later, after the invasion of the Brandenburg army on Kamień Pomorski, during
which the Cathedral and the neighboring buildings were destroyed, the bishop
was forced to transfer his residence to the Golczewo castle. However, only
Bishop Friedrich von Eickstedt managed
to pay off the next installmen